Report from George Markie
Milkman sights Pitcaple panther
From Yowie Hunters 17 th July 1999
A Garioch milkman claims to have spotted the elusive Pitcaple panther. Kevin Paton, 31, brought his van to a shuddering halt when he saw a large, black cat-like animal skulking at the roadside.
His sighting at Whiteford village, near Pitcaple, came hard on the heels of reports that a panther-like animal had been spotted at neighbouring Daviot.
Kevin, of Charles Garden, Inverurie, saw the creature during his early morning milk round.
"At first I thought it was a deer, but when I got closer I could see it was a big cat," he said.
"It was slightly smaller than a Labrador dog and had a long tail. It just cruised into the undergrowth.
"I stopped and tried to get another look at it, but it had disappeared."
Kevin plans to take a camera with him on his rounds in case he sees it again.
His sighting follows one by tractorman Alan Low, of Hillhead of Lethenty, Inverurie, who says he saw a big cat at a spot locally known as Dark Woods, near Daviot.
In May, Caroline Kennedy, of Wellpark, Daviot, also saw the creature at the woods.
There has been a trail of similar big-cat sightings across the North-east in recent months. Last month Air Training Corps Officer, Debz Rafferty, came face-to-face with a panther-like creature as she drove home to Alford from Aberdeen.
Peterhead couple Ronald and Morag Finnie reported seeing a similar dark creature while caravanning in Donside.
Seventy-four-year-old Hugh Niddrie of Aberdeen's North Anderson Drive, said he caught a big cat in his headlights when he was driving along a quiet road near Culter.
Edinburgh based big-cat expert Dr Andrew Kitchener said that he was impressed by the consistency of the North-east sightings.
"The reports are so detailed and numerous that I certainly would not rule out the possibility of one or more big cats being at large in the Grampian area."
17 th July 1999
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